Broadband radio frequency systems, such as cable television systems, typically use coaxial cables to distribute signals from a head end to a facility, and also for wiring within any facility. At the facility, devices configured to receive broadband signals, such as televisions, set-top boxes, computing systems, or other devices, are preconfigured to receive signals having power levels within a particular range. For example, analog signals received at a subscriber device are generally required to be in the range of 0 to +20 dBmV, while digital signals are generally distributed in the range of −10 dBmV to +20 dBmV.
When broadband signals are received at a facility, they are traditionally routed to wall outlets or other subscriber locations using coaxial cabling. This presents challenges to the technician/installer. This is because there are few standards for routing of coaxial cable networks—the lack of standards leads to many different wiring configurations within a facility, leading to nonstandard and unreliable cabling and loss levels at different locations within a facility. In some cases, to address the lack of standards available in RF cabling, systems have been developed which take advantage of twisted pair wiring at a facility to deliver radio frequency signals. Use of twisted pair wiring allows installation technicians to utilize familiar design standards to distribute signals throughout the facility.
Delivering RF signals via twisted pair wiring is not without drawbacks. For example, although layout standards are more standardized for twisted pair wiring than coaxial wiring, twisted pair wiring experiences comparatively greater levels of loss. For example, on a 90 meter length of Category 6A Unshielded Twisted Pair cable, attenuation at 862 MHz is approximately 54 dB, while a coaxial cable of equivalent length has approximately 18 dB attenuation. Additionally, the difference in attenuation between the highest and lowest frequencies is substantially greater in twisted pair media. The 90 meter twisted pair cable described above would have approximately 17 dB of loss at 85 MHz while an equal length of RG-6 coaxial cable has approximately 6 dB of loss. So the loss difference between 862 MHz and 85 MHz is approximately 37 dB in twisted pair media, while it is closer to 12 dB in coaxial media.
Accordingly, greater attenuation and greater difference in attenuation between the highest and lowest frequencies result in twisted-pair wiring systems having different operational requirements as compared to coaxial systems. This is especially the case for devices designed to deliver broadband services (e.g., cable television) over a TIA-568 Compliant Twisted Pair infrastructure. In such cases, the increased signal attenuation occurring due to transmission of broadband services over twisted pair wiring can result in data degradation or loss if the overall systems are not adjusted to accommodate for such attenuation losses.